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Just got a new set of 303 FC beyond black clinchers for the wife's bike (get mine in a couple days) and while she did not notice, when I put her bike up after our ride yesterday, with only 6-hours total use, I could definitely feel the lateral play in both front and back wheels. Not really a problem for her, but with DA 7900 calipers, there is not a lot of room between the brake pads to allow for lateral play. Fortunately a quick trip to Zipp's Support page this morning and I note they have a procedure listed for adjusting non-drive side pre-load nuts on the hubs which may fix the issue but is one of those adjustments were too much/not enough will be bad for the hubs.

1. Put the wheel on the bike, skewer closed.2. Loosen adjustment bolt.3. Gently tighten, checking for lateral play along the way.4. Once there is extremely little/no play, tighten.5. Remove wheel from dropout, check to see if there is bearing drag. If not and there is still some play, repeat above.

It took me 2-3 rides to get my 808s right, but they haven't loosened up since. Same thing happened to my Kings.

ms6073 wrote:Just got a new set of 303 FC beyond black clinchers for the wife's bike (get mine in a couple days) and while she did not notice, when I put her bike up after our ride yesterday, with only 6-hours total use, I could definitely feel the lateral play in both front and back wheels. Not really a problem for her, but with DA 7900 calipers, there is not a lot of room between the brake pads to allow for lateral play. Fortunately a quick trip to Zipp's Support page this morning and I note they have a procedure listed for adjusting non-drive side pre-load nuts on the hubs which may fix the issue but is one of those adjustments were too much/not enough will be bad for the hubs.

Sure the hub preload just didn't come loose and the tiny allen bolt isn't secured? That is how mine showed up new! I was wondering WTF my rear wheel was doing, then I realized..oops. They pre-load is way off. Set it, tightened the hex, no problemo anymore, no slop or play at all.

Also, I feel that Zipp overpacks the bearings with grease from the get go. Once some of that grease leaks out a bit some play develops. A very slight amount, but it can be noticeable.

Also, maybe its just me who does this but I feel that people should ALWAYS check ALL bolts on anything they buy. Its way too easy for something to come loose from the factory or for a moronic mechanic to forget to tighten something to proper spec. I remember a customer telling me how he lost a front tooth because he was rolling downhill from his apartment and took his hands from the tops of his bars to his hoods and they rotated forward sending him over the front and onto the pavement. Mechanic didn't tighten his stem bolts after installing a new stem...

Although Zipp says the preload is set from the factory, I have experienced lateral play. I followed the instructions and turn the preload all the way and back off 1/8 turn or something, the play went away when I did this.

agreed. until very recently, all zipps that i checked when new had lateral play when brand new and mounted on a bike. i test it this way: i position the wheel with the valve stem at 3oclock and let it swing. then i loosen the preload screw, tighten the preload collar just until it starts to snug, and swing the valve stem from 3oclock again. if it's a tad resistant, i back off the collar until it's just as free as before. i doublecheck lateral movement, then im done.